That is “what makes this case different,” the judge said, citing a letter from FBI Director Comey on Nov. 6 that a review of the Abedin emails did not change the agency’s previous position that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

If the case has indeed been closed, the public should have a right to the documents, Castel said.

DOJ lawyer Jennie Kneedler told the judge she will object to any unsealing, without saying why.

“I am limited in what I can say here to you, your honor,” Kneedler told the judge. “But we would like to make it known to you why the plaintiff cannot assert a commonlaw right of access.”

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Castel ordered the DOJ to show him the FBI warrants, issued on Oct. 30, by end of day Thursday along with the government’s arguments about why it thinks the warrants should remain top secret.

He said he will make his final decision after reviewing all the documents.

Castel held Tuesday’s hearing at the request of a well-known Holocaust recovery attorney, who asked that the warrants be made public before the “impending vote of the Electoral College” on Dec. 19 to finalize the presidential election.

E. Randol Schoenberg, a genealogist based in LA and known for recovering artwork stolen by the Nazis, filed a sealed request for the warrants after his Freedom of Information Act request, filed last week against the DOJ, received no response.

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Schoenberg’s latest papers, filed against a clerk of the court Friday, argued that the public has a First Amendment right to see the warrants because the investigation into Clinton’s emails has since been closed.

“Transparency and accountability are most important in cases such as this one, where the investigation in question is heavily politicized … and may have influenced the outcome of the election,” said Schoenberg’s request, filed by lawyer David Rankin.

Castel also ordered Kneedler to indicate what portions of the warrants the DOJ would want redacted if he were to make them available to the public — further hinting that he thinks they should see the light of day.

Schoenberg’s lawyers were also ordered to alert Clinton, Abedin and Weiner to their request that the documents be unsealed so that they can share their own opinions on the matter.